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Phillipsburg teachers pay literary tribute to Sandy Hook victims

Sandy Hook books

Bonnie Kuphal, left, and Sheila Cole, both teachers at Andover-Morris Elementary School, look over the books that they will be donating to Sandy Hook Elementary School.
(Photo by BILL ADAMS | Express-Times)

Though the books seem as innocent as the age group for which they're intended, they also serve as a painful reminder.

Each distinct title represents a different victim from the December shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in which gunman Adam Lanza murdered 26 people, 20 of whom were children.

Elementary schoolchildren, just like the students at Andover-Morris.

26 victims, 26 books.

"There's a connection there," Kehoe said.

The books sitting on Kehoe's desk will soon be shipped to Sandy Hook Elementary School. Thirteen Andover-Morris teachers took it upon themselves to each donate two books. Every title is different and in some way represents the particular interests or hobbies of a victim.

View full sizeA memorial sticker like the ones shown will be placed inside each of the books that will be donated to Sandy Hook Elementary School.Express-Times Photo | BILL ADAMS

Each book will also feature a personalized label, complete with the victim's photograph and a message that reads, "We will always remember you."

"We wanted to do something for the school," Kehoe said. "I thought that was a good idea."

It's been an unwritten rule for years among teachers at the school to make donations around the holidays rather than exchange gifts.

With the shooting coming just weeks before the winter break, third-grade special education teacher Bonnie Kuphal said giving to Sandy Hook just felt like the right thing to do at the time.

"It just made sense to do something like this," Kuphal said.

Fourth-grade teacher Sheila Cole said searching for a book on soccer, a sport her children play, turned out to be a "very moving experience" that piled onto the heightened emotions she already felt being an elementary schoolteacher.

"For me, it really hit home," Cole said.

Cole and Kuphal said the book donation is not something that's been widely discussed with their students. Aside from talks about school safety stemming from the shooting, there's little to be achieved by bringing it up, they said.

"That's not for them to worry about," Kuphal said. "We're here to keep them safe."

Cole said she hopes the books will serve as a "lasting keepsake" for members of the Sandy Hook community and a reminder that the victims' memories will live on.